1. Modern Evolutionary Classification
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2. Evolutionary Classification
Phylogeny is the study of evolutionary relationships among organisms.
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3. Evolutionary Classification
Biologists currently group organisms into categories that represent lines of evolutionary descent, or phylogeny, not just physical similarities.
The strategy of grouping organisms is based on evolutionary history and is called evolutionary classification.
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4. Evolutionary Classification
The higher the level of the taxon, the further back in time is the common ancestor of all the organisms in the taxon.
Organisms that appear very similar may not share a recent common ancestor.
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5. Evolutionary Classification
Different Methods of Classification
Crustaceans
Mollusk
Appendages
Conical Shells
Crab
Barnacle
Limpet
Crab
Barnacle
Limpet
Molted external skeleton
Early systems of classification grouped organisms together based on visible similarities. That approach might result in classifying limpets and barnacles together (left). Biologists now group organisms into categories that represent lines of evolutionary descent, or phylogeny, not just physical similarities. Crabs and barnacles are now grouped together (right) because they share several characteristics that indicate that they are more closely related to each other than either is to limpets. These characteristics include segmented bodies, jointed limbs, and an external skeleton that is shed during growth.
Tiny free-swimming larva
Segmentation
CLASSIFICATION BASED ON VISIBLE SIMILARITY
CLADOGRAM
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6. Classification Using Cladograms
Many biologists now use a method called cladistic analysis.
Characteristics that appear in recent parts of a lineage but not in its older members are called derived characters.
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7. Classification Using Cladograms
Derived characters can be used to construct a cladogram, a diagram that shows the evolutionary relationships among a group of organisms.
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8. Classification Using Cladograms
A cladogram shows the evolutionary relationships between crabs, barnacles, and limpets.
Crustaceans
Mollusk
Crab
Barnacle
Limpet
Early systems of classification grouped organisms together based on visible similarities. That approach might result in classifying limpets and barnacles together. Biologists now group organisms into categories that represent lines of evolutionary descent, or phylogeny, not just physical similarities. Crabs and barnacles are now grouped together because they share several characteristics that indicate that they are more closely related to each other than either is to limpets. These characteristics include segmented bodies, jointed limbs, and an external skeleton that is shed during growth.
Molted external skeleton
Segmentation
Tiny free-swimming larva
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9. Similarities in DNA and RNA
The genes of many organisms show important similarities at the molecular level.
Similarities in DNA can be used to help determine classification and evolutionary relationships.
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10. Similarities in DNA and RNA
The genes of many organisms show important similarities at the molecular level.
Similarities in DNA can be used to help determine classification and evolutionary relationships.
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11. Molecular Clocks
A gene in an ancestral species
Molecular Clocks
A molecular clock uses DNA comparisons to estimate the length of time that two species have been evolving independently.
2 mutations
2 mutations
new mutation
new mutation
new mutation
Species
Species
Species A B C